Qualifications

My name is Alexis Aiger, and I am the owner and operator of Positive Approaches, LLC, a mental health counseling resource in Clackamas, Oregon. I strongly believe in your ability to overcome obstacles, make peace with your past, and live a life that you enjoy. You can find peace with the world and people around you. You can balance the demands of life so you feel less stressed, less anxious, more content, and satisfied in your relationships and in life.

As you explore options for counseling, it is important that you find someone who has the knowledge and expertise to meet your unique needs. My qualifications are below, and will help you begin to determine if Positive Approaches, LLC may be a good fit for you.

I am a Licensed Professional Counselor with the Oregon Board of Licensed Professional Counselors and Therapists. This means that I have met certain standards, including a graduate degree in the mental health field, experience in the field, and that I have passed an examination to demonstrate my competency.

I am also a National Certified Counselor with the National Board for Certified Counselors. This means that I meet national standards within the counseling field, and helps ensure that you receive competent care.

Education

I hold a master’s degree in mental health counseling from Walden University, which is a program accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling & Related Educational Programs. This means that the counseling program I graduated from meets professionally-approved standards of competence. To obtain this degree, I completed a 600-hour internship in a community mental health agency, in addition to my coursework.

In addition to my master’s degree, I hold a bachelor of science degree in psychology from Portland State University.

Experience

I began my career in mental health working in a community mental health agency with adults with severe and persistent mental illness in Portland, Oregon. This was in a residential treatment facility, meaning the individuals served lived on-site. I then transitioned to working as a case manager for a large regional hospital in Portland, working with the PSRB (Psychiatric Security Review Board) population. Again, most of the individuals I worked with in that setting had been diagnosed with severe and persistent mental illness. From there, I transitioned to working as a case manager for an early intervention mental health program, with the goal of helping keep individuals out of the psychiatric hospital by intervening early in the course of their mental health difficulties.

My internship while completing graduate school was with a youth organization serving adolescents who had been removed from their homes by the State, and who were in foster care (also in Portland, Oregon). As I completed my graduate work, I transitioned to a therapist role in a Partial Hospitalization and Intensive Outpatient Program, working with individuals experiencing intense anxiety, low mood, suicidal thoughts, unstable mood states, and some psychosis. After working with that population, I transitioned to working within an Eating Disorders Outpatient Behavioral Health Program, working with adolescents and adults struggling to maintain a healthy body weight or abstain from unhealthy eating disorder behaviors. This has included family therapy, which is strongly implemented with the adolescent population in particular.

I completed 2,400 hours of supervised direct service to clients in individual, family, and group counseling sessions while working in the Partial Hospitalization and Intensive Outpatient Programs in order to receive my license as a Licensed professional Counselor.

I am now working in private practice as Positive Approaches, LLC, with the goal of utilizing my education, broad experience base, and overall positive outlook to assist others in reaching their goals, managing their emotions, and putting their focus back on living their life.

Specialties

Though I am educated and qualified to see anyone interested in my services, I have experience in, and a passion for, counseling the following:

Eating Disorders

Adolescent Counseling

Parenting Difficulties

Anxiety

Treatment Approach

I know that no one treatment approach will fit every person and every situation. As such, I utilize an integrative approach to counseling and life coaching, which means that I utilize various theoretical approaches in order to best meet the unique needs of each client. We will work together to identify your goals and how to best help you move toward those goals. This means that I will, at times, draw from my knowledge of cognitive-behavioral therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, motivational interviewing, mindfulness, and many more forms of therapy to best meet your needs. No matter which treatment approach works best for you, you can be assured that I will also practice from a person-centered perspective that acknowledges and appreciates your unique strengths and characteristics.

The process of counseling and coaching will at times be difficult, but I will provide an open, non-judgmental environment where you are free to explore any and all thoughts, feelings, and issues. I strongly believe that humans naturally strive for positive growth and I am passionate about helping you reach your full potential and live a life where you are content and experiencing life to the fullest.